So This Happened Today
by MissAtomicBomb77
Summary: No one would realize until later what it was they had seen come across on the news desk on that October morning as anything more than innocuous.


No one would realize until later what it was they had seen come across on the news desk on that October morning as anything more than innocuous.

_Stamford, Connecticut explosion levels home._

It was the third Saturday of the month, which meant that it was rehearsal day. Within weeks of Mackenzie McHale coming to ACN, she implemented these weekends where they would practice for breaking news. They would draw a newsworthy story out of the hat (an example, presidential assassination attempt) and discuss what kind of details to collect, who the contact or backup contacts were, how to reach those contacts, how to present the information in a respectful manor. These drills were becoming a little more fluid than before and each exercise was making everyone on the team feel even confident about their abilities.

_Stamford, Connecticut explosion levels home, debris located 400 feet away._

Mackenzie took a sort of pride watching Jim, her friend, her confidant, her protégé as he acted as an air traffic controller with getting those sources, coordinating, validating. She used to shepherd these exercises so much more in the past, but now they take a life of their own and like today, she loiters on one of the news desks, picking at a cereal bar, shoes dangling from her feet. It made her heart full to see how her little family were growing to trust one another and do things for each other. Yes, pride indeed.

_Stamford, Connecticut explosion levels home, debris located 400 feet away, one injured._

It always fell on Will to feed the team on these days and while he seldom strayed from the old reliable pizza, he liked announcing his arrival with a certain amount of panache. He was starting invest in these people just as much as Mackenzie took pride in them. Who was going where for vacation, how were their families outside of work doing, what their hobbies were. He loved how Tess would fawn over Elliot's daughters when they came in for these visits. Gary and Neal would check the odds on the playbook for what hypothetical event was going on. The entire floor would cheer with Will when Nebraska beat their opponent with impunity.

_Stamford, Connecticut explosion levels home, debris located 400 feet away, one injured, two unaccounted for._

They were never disappointed with the results of these exercises and everyone would go home with a sense of satisfaction that they could handle anything that could be thrown at them. They were ready for an assassination, the outbreak of war, domestic terrorism, the death of a politician, and the death of the queen. All of these scenarios and sometimes they would discuss for a moment that when something like this happens, how it's okay to take a moment and mourn, grieve, be angry or express rage, because you don't prepare in hopes that these things happen, but so that you can help guide others through them to the other side, whatever form that might take.

_Stamford, Connecticut explosion levels home, debris located 400 feet away, one injured, one dead, one unaccounted for._

Sundays are always quiet and are the day where you get to enjoy and take pride in what you do. This is the time when you can tell your spouse or your friend at the gym that you are very proud to be part of this team of newsmen and women. Enjoy at the people you support and the people that support them. Maggie often liked to work on the Sunday after the drills; she always felt keyed up for the week already and took the time to work on whatever her pet project was to be. Sometimes Jim would come by and while things were not perfect between them, he was always good for a coffee refill and a smile.

_Stamford, Connecticut explosion levels home, debris located 400 feet away, one injured, two dead._

Things had been going well for everyone; the court case was coming to a close and the more that it progressed, the more that the news division was able to rise above. They had the full support from their leadership and the argument for ACN to be the home of the media elite was getting airplay and print from shore to shore. The high point of the case to date was when Leona took the stand in defense of Charlie. Say or think what you want about Leona Lansing, but if she didn't adore Charlie, Will and the News Night family then she was a fantastic liar under oath. The outcome was promising and everyone would be able to move forward with the news they wanted to do.

_Third unknown body found in Stamford, Connecticut home explosion, debris located 400 feet away, one injured, two dead._

When the president of Atlantis Cable News Charlie Skinner didn't show up for work on that following Monday morning, they didn't realize that they had known the reason why the entire time.


End file.
